By TERRI HIGGINS

FRONT ROYAL -. A draft of a redevelopment study for the former Avtex Fibers plant is scheduled to be ready on Jan. 15.

FMC Corp., which owned the plant from 1963 to 1976, is paying $50,000 for the study, which examines future uses of the 440-acre site.

Mazza Engineering Associates in Aliquippa, Pa., should have the draft ready by Jan. 15 and a completed study should be released in the following two to three weeks, according to Kate Blow of Environmental Issues Management, working on behalf of FMC.

According to "Superfund Update No. 3," compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency and mailed to area residential and businesses on the EPA mailing list, EPA staff members will be available to review the findings.

The rayon-manufacturing facility closed in 1989 after continued violations of pollution laws. The EPA was subsequently called in to clean up the site under its Superfund program.

Information about health studies and the cleanup of the Avtex site is included in the update, which states that any citizen can submit a petition for a public health assessment at the site

A health assessment identifies possible health effects related to the Avtex site based on available information, such as state air monitoring records or statistics on the frequency of certain illnesses.

If officials at the Centers for Disease Control decide a significant human health risk may be involved, a health study may be conducted.

This would involve gathering more information to determine possible health effects related to the site and could involve such procedures as testing the blood of community residents.

A petition for a health assessment has been requested by a Front Royal resident, according to Amy Barnett, EPA's community relations coordinator in Philadelphia.

The last health assessment was conducted in December 1988 by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The report, made before cleanup efforts, states that the site was a potential public health concern because of the possibility of human exposure to hazardous substances.

It stated that adverse health effects could occur if people were exposed to CS2 and other site-related contaminants through ingestion, inhalation, or direct contact with groundwater.

The report, however, states that officials are not aware of any human exposure to contaminated groundwater and that no health-effects follow up has been requested.

Also in the recent update sheet, a question is raised concerning whether unemployed Front Royal citizens can assist with the cleanup.

Contractors with specific skills have been hired to handle each phase of the project, and it is illegal for the EPA to direct the contractors to hire certain people, the update states.

But the EPA has provided the local Avtex Redevelopment Committee with information about proper training for work at hazardous-waste sites.

Anyone working at the site must have 40 hours of safety training approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, be enrolled in a medical monitoring program, and have a necessary skill for the cleanup project.

Anyone with the necessary skills can contact the contractors.

Also stated in the update sheet is information about the many drums, apparently containing chemicals, at the site.

Tests have been conducted to determine their contents, and they are secured with plans for being shipped off-site. A qualified contractor has been approved to handle the disposal, the update states.

Also, after a citizen's request, the EPA inspected the former allied Chemical property and did not find any drums there.

In reference to the debris from Avtex's acid reclaim building, the update states that the building was decontaminated before it was demolished last year, and because the debris is not causing further contamination, the EPA cannot legally spend cleanup money to haul it away. The debris will be disposed of during the long-term cleanup.

The update also explains the source of Superfund money used to clean up hazardous waste sites such as Avtex.

Companies that make chemicals or petroleum products such as gasoline pay a special tax to the federal government, and the money goes into the Superfund.